Philippines
The German Sparkassenstiftung addresses theissue of youth unemploymentby running from December 2013 –September 2019 the K-12 PLUS Project. Along with the German Partners AFOS-Foundation, DIHK/AHK, GIZ, sequa and ZDH, the German Sparkassenstiftung providedtechnical assistance to expand the dual vocational training within the framework of the educational reform “Kto12”. Within this project, the German Sparkassenstiftung is implementing the dualizedvocational training in Finance wherein partner associations and institutions work with senior high schools to train studentsin the qualifications of Microfinance, Bookkeeping or Microinsurance –qualifications which are in high demand in the Philippine finance industry. The participation of the German Sparkassenstiftung in the K-12 PLUS Project ceased at the end of the project’s second phase in September 2019.
In October of 2019, the German Sparkassenstiftung started the Orientation Phase of a new project, Strengthening of Financial Associations (SFA) as providers and coordinators of practice-oriented education vocational education and financial education in the Philippines, continuing the finance dualized education (FDE) and adding capacity development and financial literacy.
The overall goal of the SFA Project is to improve the quality of life of Filipino families through financial inclusion and increased youth employability.
The SFA’s objective is to strengthen associations of financial institutions, to act as coordinators and providers of hands-on educational measures and financial education.
The SFS Project implements measures at the meso and micro levels. At the meso level, microfinance associations are strengthened so that they can offer both vocational education and training for MFI staff, to professionalize the supply side of microfinance services. At the micro level, the improvement of basic financial education to project stakeholders strengthens and contributes to financial inclusion.
In April 2022, DSIK Philippines was integrated into the Far East Regional Office under the Regional Project on Rural Development in Indonesia and in the Philippines (RP-RDIP)
The overall objective of the project is to improve access to adequate financial services for households, micro and small (agro)enterprises in selected rural regions in Indonesia and in the Philippines, thus contributing to regional economic growth and poverty reduction.
The project objective is to strengthen the professional skills in the (micro)finance sector and the financial literacy of students, households, micro and small (agro)entrepreneurs in selected rural regions in Indonesia and in the Philippines.
DSIK Philippines, within the DSIK Regional Project in the Far East, is presently working with two main partner associations consisting of a combined 370 member microfinance institutions, 2 pioneer microfinance institution project partners, and 5 schools implementing finance dualized education.
